...applies to more than firearms and self-defense...
For the past two storms, our snowblower has been sitting idle in the garage. It's one of the units that attaches to the front of a lawn tractor, and the belt that powers the auger broke after 10 years of use. A trip to NAPA yielded a belt that was allegedly a replacement, yet only lasted half a driveway before snapping like a turkey drumstick at Al Gore's house on Thanksgiving. Upon closer inspection, the "replacement" belt and the original belt are quite different - the original belt is "V" shaped to better stay in the pulleys needed to convert the belt motion from horizontal to vertical, whereas the "replacement" belt is not "V" shaped.
Naturally, the dealership where we bought the lawn tractor and snowblower attachment is plumb out of belts. After some frantic searching, we located the Canadian company that supplies belts to the tractor places - only to find out that they do not ship to individuals, only tractor distributors and sales. They're shipping two new belts to be held for us (again, two is one, one is none), but they're apparently coming in via yak from North Yemen.
Boy, this last snowstorm would have been a *lot* easier if the snowblower had been working, rather than shoveling by hand...
If you've got a snowblower, make sure you have multiple replacement wear parts. Even if it's something that's expected to last the life of your machine, have an extra belt, or shear pin, or whatever. Any time you have a piece of equipment whose failure could mean a significant negative impact on your life, having a back-up is critical.
In that vein, for those in areas prone to flooding, now would be the perfect time to look into a back-up or replacement sump pump. Very few people are thinking about the spring, when the 3-5' of snow sitting on the lawn now melts and raises the water table - there will be significant flooding of low-lying areas... and basements. Right now everyone's out buying snowblowers, shovels, and such - not too many people thinking about sump pumps. For $100 you can get an inexpensive submersible pump to drop in your sump should the dedicated pump fail; for another $100 or so you can buy a second sump pump to swap out should the need arise.
Spending ~ $250 now for a pump you might not need this year will be money well-spent if it turns out you *do* need the pump this spring...
That is all.
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13 comments:
Thanks for the reminder. We have one of those backup sump pumps that runs off of a marine battery. I haven't checked the battery or trickle charger in quite a while. Baling out a sump pump at 3 AM during a power outage sucks.
You have a 10 year old son, you don't need a snowblower. You need a $5 bill and a shovel.
Might want to make the backup a gasoline powered pump. That's what my father has, as typically the worst flooding issues are spring thunderstorms that melt snow and knock out power. Siphoning some gas out of your car is a lot easier than rigging the charging system to run an electric pump.
Frei - inflation's a bitch. Kids turn up their noses at anything less than a Jackson these days!
Jay, you speak truth. When our mower deck died last year (apparently self-cannibalism is acceptable when you're painted green), I picked up the appropriate replacement belt ... and one of every other belt on the mower.
We're lucky to have a cellar that doesn't floor; my parents are less lucky and Dad has *always* had a second sump pump sitting nearby. He will buy it, take it home, put all the proper fittings and connections on it, test it, and then put it back in the box. Old pump dies? Disconnect one hose and connect it to the new pump, pull the old one and drop the new one in. Back in business. Then he goes directly to the store and buys a new replacement.
In that vein, for those in areas prone to flooding, now would be the perfect time to look into a back-up or replacement sump pump.
Yup, make sure it works! My parents basement flooded a couple years back because the float valve on the pump was broken/not working.
Good ideas Jay, sadly people DON'T plan (by and large)...
I'm a (fairly) faithful follower of the PPPPPPP philosophy. My sump pump is plugged into an inverter powered by a float-charged deep-cycle battery. The preparedness mindset proved its worth to me when I turned on the light in a relative's basement and said "Why does the light look funny?" It was because the torrential downpour had broken a window and literally filled the basement up to the top step. I TOLD them to not run that gasoline-driven pump in an enclosed space. No one listens to me; possibly due to the brain damage from the CO buildup. Good times were had by all.
Would something like a Power-twist adjustable V-belt be a short-term answer?:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/POWERTWIST-PLUS-Power-Twist-V-Belt-5A547
I understand horror-fright tools has a competing adjustable-length v-belt for about $4/ft.
Check the belt tensioner when you replace the belt. The spring might be getting weak.
Thanks, my snow envy was getting pretty fierce...
Just finished shoveling the roof, can't wait for spring and basement flooding!! Yahoooooooooo. Good heads up, thanks.
Been there, done that. Once my tenants were out of town and their rolled up newspaper stayed in the driveway and disappeared under the snow that fell the next night. I can along the next morning with the snowblower. Sound like a gunshot and bits of paper flew through the air. After hours of trying to free the thing I took it to the dealership service department which had to dismantle the auger assembly to get the thing out.
What are these "Snow" and "Basement" things of which you speak?
@Freiheit - My parents always assumed I would prefer to live in their house and get my princely allowance ($1 every two weeks at 10yrs old) rather than be paid for shoveling snow, cutting grass...
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